Yaupon

About Yaupon

Broken, roasted yaupon leaf.

Yaupon, also called cassina, is a species of caffeinated holly native to North America and related to Yerba Mate and Guayusa, both of which are native to South America. Yaupon is the only plant native to North America which is used to produce a caffeinated drink.

The scientific name of Yaupon is the unappetizing-sounding Ilex vomitoria. This name is historical, due to a potentially uncertain association between Yaupon and the black drink, a drink of unknown composition that was long thought to be made of Yaupon, which was consumed in large quantities by native Americans in a ceremony that involved ritual vomiting. Yaupon tea alone does not induce vomiting, and the black drink may have contained other herbs that do.

The name cassina can refer to both the plant and the drink, and derives from the name for this plant in the Timucua language. The Dahoon Holly (Ilex cassine), another holly native to the southeastern U.S. is also called Cassena, usually spelled differently, is closely related and was also used for similar purposes.

Yaupon as a plant

An Eastern Bluebird in a weeping Yaupon holly tree, a horticultural variety of this species. Public domain photo by Ken Thomas.

Yaupon is the most cold-hardy caffeinated plant, naturally growing in regions colder than the tea plant, and able to be grown significantly farther north and in significantly colder areas than its native range.

It is more popular as a landscape plant, with at least six horticultural varieties available, including ones with weeping, dwarf, and columnar habits.

Like other native plants, when planted in or near its native range, Yaupon supports native wildlife like the Eastern bluebird pictured on the left.

Best Yaupon

The notion of the "best" Yaupon is subjective, because different people have different tastes. We present the most often-rated and highest-rated teas in this category, and allow you to draw your own conclusions.